I think Epson makes some really good scanners, but not so much printers.

Since I wanted a good all-in-one, my research led me to the Canon-MP530. I had an Epson model just before this which was a much better scanner (I could scan anything, like action figures in the box for example. The scan light was bright enough to pick up a lot of depth. Scanning figures now doesn't work as the scan light is so much dimmer. I can't see the figures inside the box anymore, just shadows and darkness.)

I went with Canon cuz at the time printing custom covers was the #1 priority. The prints from the Epson looked like a$$, plus their ink is super-expensive and runs out super-fast (not to mention forcing you to refill when there's 25% left in the old tank. I did get my class-action lawsuit check for this practice, but it continues.) Next time I'll get a seperate scanner and printer and have the best of both worlds. The Canon does work fine for flat covers and whatever esle is flat, but I wouldn't recomend it as I know there's much better out there.

Astrakan the DCP-7020 comes up as a Brother all in one with the following specs on scanning:

Optical: 600 x 2400 dpi
Enhanced: 9600 x 9600 dpi

Well that's much lower than the one i was looking at so maybe you can tell me at what dpi you scan at and how you touch up your scans and at what resolution.

thanks

p.s. i found this link that may prove usefull to other however it's dated back in 2001 but explains different areas of a scanners specs that would still prove usefull.

htp://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/features/2129917/choose-scanner

I think most any scanner in the $200 area would probably do what you want to do.  I purchased a "Canon CanoScan 8800F 2168B002 4800 x 9600dpi 48bit USB Interface Flatbed Scanner" from NewEgg a few months ago and have nothing but good things to say about it.  The scans come out clean and the color matches exactly.  Usually all I have to do is clean up some minor dust/scratches in Photoshop and then brighten the image a bit for the CRT users (otherwise they complain they're too dark   ) and that's about it.

I stopped using Unsharp Mask and IMO my scans come out cleaner than they used to. Also I would not have the scanner compress the image. I would do that in the photo editing program.

For what it is worth ... I do all my scanning with my Canon LiDE 35 that I paid $45.00 for brand new (after rebate).

I tried all different ways to scan and never got as good a look as I thought I could get. After getting many scans declined ... I contacted Skip for some advice.

Here is how I do my scans and have excellent luck doing them:

I scan the cover in at 800 DPI using the TIFF format. This makes for a BIG file but an excellent scan to work with. Once I cropped the cover (be it front or back) I end up with a file that is approximately 4000 pixels in width and 5700 pixels in height. I then (using PhotoShop 7.0 go to Image > Adjustments > Auto Levels and apply that. I then go to Filter > Noise > Dust & Scratches and when the window pops up I set radius to 1 pixel and Threshold to 255 pixels. I then click OK. My next step is to go to Image > Image Size and set the Width to 800 to 1000 pixels and click OK. Then I use the Magnifying Tool to bring the image back to a workable size. I then go to Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen and apply that. I then go to File > Save As. When that window opens you will still see TIFF as the file. I open the Format window and go to JPEG and use that. I then save it as either front or back (depending on the cover I am doing).

I then open DVDP and once I get the DVD up I right click the cover image and go to Edit Cover Images. Once that opens I go to File > Clear and clear the existing image. I then go back to File > Open and get the file I just saved in PhotoShop. Once I have it imported into the program, I go to File > Adjust Compression. Once there I set the quality scale at the bottom to 100. I then look it over then click OK. Once the picture is done with that I clcik OK again and it installs it into the program. I do the same with both covers and then you are ready to upload to the online database.

I do some adjustments to colors etc when working on it in PhotoShop, but that is something you will have to play with.

I can honestly say that I went from getting about 8 out of 10 of my scans declined to 9 out of 10 getting accepted. I have one here and there that do not make it, but my overall experience has been positive.

I have Skip to thank for this.

Hope this helps you a little. I do not personnaly think the scanner has as much to do with the scan as the settings do. I used to scan at 600 DPI using JPEG and when I changed to 800 and TIFF it made all the difference.

Mark

Quoting Phe0nix:

Quote:
I just finished setting up the Epson V500  ( posted specs above ) and when i scan the scan comes out looks horrible but when i click the preview button it does a quick scan and that quick scan looks awsome but the actuall scans look bad. Guess i need to learn how to setup the scanner. I will take a screen shot and maybe someone can suggest what setting to use. I can set the dpi all the way up to 12800. My old scanner only went up to 300.

Compression settings
Configuration settings
dpi options
Image type settings

I noticed the image sized were 9 MB and looked terrible. Doesn't make sense.

The first picture indicates JPG compression settings.  Are you using the Epson software to capture a JPG which you then open in some other software?  If you have to do it that way slide that bar to high quality.  Presumably there is a way from within whatever graphics app you use to open the scanner and have the results land in the app after scanning, avoiding any compression.

I'd at least try turning the Color Restoration and Dust Removal off to see what impact it has.

Quoting Phe0nix:

Quote:
Anyways here is what i am getting now.
What do you thing about this scan?

As tweeter said, the colours are fine, it's just badly overexposed.  Are you doing an autolevel anywhere?  Either the scanner isn't calibrating itself properly or the 48bit to 24bit bit conversion isn't being handled properly.

It's not very sharp either, but that might just be the printed quality.  It wouldn't really show up at the DVDP resolutions either way.

Phoenix:

Not having the title to actually compare it to, I will offer a few qualified criticisms to you.

1) Lose the Sticker
2) Your black level looks to be a litt6le on the light side
3) I suspect that the red uniforms are a little bit closer to a "true" red than you have them.

Like I said those qualified as I can';t compare it to the real cover.

Skip